Businesses are making Somers Point their new address

SOMERS POINT—The city that has adopted the slogan “The shore starts here” is able to claim that business starts here as well. In 2013 Somers Point saw some new retailers pick their city as a good locale to open their doors and with the recent announcement that PetSmart will soon have an address in town, 2014 is looking business friendly as well.

The city lost the original Wawa on New Road at Rhode Island Ave. but 2013 brought a new Super Wawa to MacArthur Blvd. With 4,600 square feet of retail space to go along with a full-service gas station is dwarfs the older store. A team of 60 employees mans the 24 hour store and gas station. The employees from the now shuttered Wawa were all offered positions in other Wawa locations leaving Somers Point netting 60 new positions with the addition of the convenience store.

Olympia Sports moved into the Ocean Heights Plaza on Bethel Road. The chain of sports stores has been in business since 1975 and has more than 230 stores operating in mid-sized markets in the Mid-Atlantic region and into the northeast.

The store carries athletic equipment, apparel, footwear with labels customers are looking for like Nike and Under Armour. When they opened their doors in Somers Point Olympia Sports added jobs to the city.

Also finding a home in the Ocean Heights Plaza on Bethel Road is Jersey Mike’s Subs. Headquartered in Manasquan; Jersey Mike’s is taking the subs we have grown up on and spreading them around the country with 750 franchise locations open or in the works. Their bread is baked in the store and their signature blend of olive oil, vinegar and spices gives the subs their consistent good flavor.

Somers Point is home to Shore Orthopaedic University Associates who chose to stay in the community and grow. They moved their operation from Shore Road at Center St. to 24 MacArthur Blvd and expanded the services they are able to offer their patients.

The 10,300-square-foot, architecturally impressive building includes exam rooms, X-ray imaging services, physical therapy facility, medical offices along with the lobby and a reflective garden area.

The new building design allows easy access for wheelchair-bound patients to get to intake desks and exam rooms as well as the rehab facility managed by NovaCare that is just off the lobby and allows an opportunity for a better patient experience and outcome.

The exciting news is what is on the horizon in Somers Point. The pet super store; PetSmart is slated to open their doors in the former Fashion Bug location in the Somers Point Plaza on New Road sometime during 2014.

“The fact that nationally known PetSmart and the other great stores and eateries have chosen to make Somers Point their home and/or expanded here signifies that our downtown is a draw for shoppers and a prime location to do business,” said Michael Bray, president of the Somers Point Economic Development Commission (EDAC).